Clyde is a 16-month-old Percheron colt being sold by Eric McMackin from Huntingdon, Tennessee. Staff photo by Kristi Sanders
One of the 300 carriages and wagons expected to sell at this year's auction. Staff photo by Kristi Sanders
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Kristi Sanders, Washington Times-Herald
MONTGOMERY — The area’s 40-year-old Amish horse auction is set to start its final day of bidding this morning, in the heart of the local Amish community.
Today there will be around 500 draft and pulling horses on the auction block at Dinky’s Auction Center. Last year, 454 draft and pulling horses were sold, so the numbers are up.
One seller, Eric McMackin from Huntingdon, Tennessee, has his 16-month-old Percheron slated for this year’s auction.
“I’ve been coming here for about six or seven years,” McMackin said. “But this is the first year I have sold a horse here.”
The colt he is selling is a draft breed that is already 17.3 hands high. And this horse has a rather unique talent.
“He loves to play with a ball,” McMackin said. “He will pick one up and fetch even.”
McMackin is hoping to get some good money out of his horse Black Jack Mac or just “Clyde” for short.
“We have spent a lot of time and money on this horse, but he is a good one,” McMackin said. “I bred and raised him myself. His father is the two-time champion at the Percheron show in Indianapolis.”
In 2016, the highest selling draft pulling horse, like the ones selling today, brought $16,250. The average price of a pulling horse can be about $14,000 to $15,000. Colts and fillies of these pulling horses can bring a nice price too. Average cost for a colt is $3,500 and expect to pay about $2,900 for a filly.
Stephen Yoder from Vevay, has been coming to the sale for the last 12 years. He only brought one horse this year -- a 5-year-old black Friesian/ Standardbred cross.
“This is the closest big horse sale around,” Yoder said. He bought his mare just over a year ago.
“I like to train a bit,” Yoder said. To get them ready for sale he says he must “get them in good shape and feed them up before the auction.”
Other sellers were getting their horses ready for Wednesday evening’s sale by taking them out to drive so potential buyers could watch.
Most sellers try to keep their horses looking nice, some by braiding parts of the horse’s forelock as well as painting their hooves, or giving them a quick brush down.
Even though many do travel for this show, there are several local horses on the auction block as well.
William Knepp, from Montgomery, has been helping his family sell horses for the last four years.
“We like to take our horses here because buyers from out of state come and we sell horses good at this auction,” Knepp said. “We have 12 horses this year in the auction.”
All of this family’s horses are 3 to 12 years old and are “buggy horses,” he said.
But not everyone is there to buy a horse. At this year’s auction, bidders purchased 300 carriages and wagons, plus 8,000 small furniture items, farm equipment and any other odds and ends items.
Jim Water, from Lawrenceville, Illinois, has been coming for the past four years.
“They have the best selection in southern Indiana,” Water said. “If you can’t find something here, you won’t find it.”
Water took home several items, but one stands out to him the most.
“I got a very old Pepsi box,” Water said. “It’s super old, so that makes it very hard to find.”
The last day for the big auction is today, ending with the draft and horse sale. There will be no regular Dinky’s auction on Friday.
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